Blizzard is known for saying outrageous things at its events like, “Do you guys not have phones?” This time around, the company that’s not afraid of licking its Chinese overlord’s boots is now contemplating whether or not Blizzcon 2020 should kick-off later this year in November.
According to Saralyn Smith, executive producer of BlizzCon, it is said that it’s too early for planners behind BlizzCon 2020 to tell if the event will be “feasible.”
Although prior to the recent pandemic, the team had been actively working to finalize plans. However, given workplace changes, the whole event is now up in the air — until further notice.
This means the team is now considering a range of scenarios and possibilities, like continuing with a physical show, making an online event, or canceling the entire event for this year.
Nevertheless, Blizzard made mention that the team will let potential attendees know if preparation can be made “as quickly as possible.”
With that said, here’s the full letter via blizzcon.com:
“Hello Blizzard community,
A gaming convention is probably the last thing on most people’s minds right now, and that goes for many of us at Blizzard too. As events around the world announce cancellations, postponements, or shifts to an online format in response to COVID-19, we’re seeing questions about our plans for this year’s BlizzCon and we want to provide a quick update.
We love BlizzCon, and we know many of you share that feeling and look forward to it as an opportunity to get away for a while, meet up with friends, and have a good time. As so many of us have been isolated for multiple weeks now, surrounded and in some cases directly impacted by the ongoing pandemic-related challenges around the world, we’re looking forward to the time when we can see one another again in person and have something to celebrate together.
While we’re all hopeful things will look better later in the year, the bottom line is that at this point it’s too early to know whether BlizzCon 2020 will be feasible. The health of our community, employees, and everyone who helps with the show is our top consideration. It might be a few months before we know for certain if or how we’ll proceed, but as soon as we have a meaningful update, we’ll share it.
We do want to mention that prior to the recent events we had been actively working to finalize our plans and in fact are still doing so, despite the workplace changes we’ve now made at Blizzard. That includes considering a range of scenarios and possibilities, not just in terms of the show, but also regarding what the experience would be for you. We know BlizzCon also involves preparation on your part, so we’ll do our best to provide as much clarity as we can, as quickly as we can.
In the meantime, please be good to one another, stay well, and know that we’re holding everyone impacted by COVID-19 in our thoughts.”
In other words, although Blizzard is making plans regarding BlizzCon 2020 and whether or not it will appear as a physical show or a digital one, all-in-all it could face cancelation.
Nevertheless, we’ll find out soon what will go down since Smith claims that a public update regarding the annual event will pop up “soon.”